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Winter Riding and Cleaning

Zapfrog75

Chimp
Oct 26, 2020
12
1
I've gone from casual rider to pretty serious rider and willing to brave the cold here in the North East for winter riding. I'm doing a lot of reading with people saying that even with proper bike cleaning after every ride the road salt will just eat your bike. True? Maybe I should just transition to indoor Zwift or RGT Cycling?
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,225
20,003
Sleazattle
I've gone from casual rider to pretty serious rider and willing to brave the cold here in the North East for winter riding. I'm doing a lot of reading with people saying that even with proper bike cleaning after every ride the road salt will just eat your bike. True? Maybe I should just transition to indoor Zwift or RGT Cycling?
I didn't do too much riding on salted roads but I lived on a boat and my bike hung outside a foot away from Pacific water and was exposed to salt water daily. This was an old beater bike and I did nothing to really maintain it. I had problems but it certainly didn't get eaten away. A titanium seat post fused into the aluminum frame. This is going to happen with two different metal types and was a bad idea no matter what. I also had problems with aluminum nipples corroding and breaking a lot.

I wouldn't worry about it with a few precautions. Make sure everything is assembled with ample amounts of grease. lightly rinse the bike with fresh water after each ride and either ride a beater wheelset or get something with brass nipples. I have had galvonic corrosion issues with aluminim nipples even in salt-less conditions so brass is now my go to for any custom build. Lube your chain after each ride or just let it build a thick nasty layer of old lube.

I would be just as worried with road salt as I would be with the sweat I drip all over the bike in the summer heat.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
Seems to eat a lot of shit. Fucking hate salt on roads. Most of it here is just in parking lots and similar places, but still.
 
I commuted for years in Cambridge, but that was on a 70s Raleigh three speed. Stuff got rusty and wanted maintenance, but it worked.

Newer bikes have various metals sandwiched up against one another and are more prone to galvanic corrosion.

In the road salty season, I ride the Moonlander, which is mostly steel, and it has given me no corrosion related issues over its seven and a half year lifespan to date.
 

Jeffy2k

Chimp
Jun 4, 2021
5
0
When the road bike is in use, it gets a comprehensive drivetrain cleaning once a week (the summer). I usually put 100 miles on it a week, if not more.

After each ride, I clean the mountain bike more completely, and I do a drivetrain refresh (degrease and lube) when I hear the chain or after 12-13 hours of riding.

When I hear the chain, which is about once a week, the commuter gets a drivetrain refresh. Depending on my schedule, season, and other riding, it can range from 20 to 150 miles a week.

Every year, I disassemble each bike and clean it down with cheap dirt bike cleaner to the frame with, with the exception of the BBs, which I just replace if they're worn or causing problems. If I've had a particularly dirty day of riding, I'll disassemble the bikes' mech and clean them thoroughly as needed in between major teardowns.
 
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